Where are all the Civil War Muskets ?

[NHBandit]

Another thread reminded me of one of my absolute favorite places to spend the day when I lived in New England. Being a Civil War fan and a fan of vintage firearms this is one of my favorite pictures. The Springfield Armory Museum in Springfield MA. I have some pics I took myself but the one on the right was blatantly stolen from a Google search because it's a better pic than any of mine. Pic on the left is mine to show that they are not just stacked from floor to ceiling, they are stacked deep as well. Here we are all scratching around in the dirt hoping to find a rusty broken piece of a Springfield musket when there's this.... At the end of the war metallic cartridges were quickly becoming the way to go so the last batch of brand new 1861 Springfield muskets never left the factory. They are still there... All 645 of them.

 

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[Red James Cash]

Why do they find the need to keep 645 of the exact same type of rifle.Makes no sense to me.They would make a nice bit of money selling some off.

 

[Ruchman]

That's a cool picture! I could stare at that all day, what a neat picture. Thanks for sharing

 

[NHBandit]

Why do they find the need to keep 645 of the exact same type of rifle.Makes no sense to me.They would make a nice bit of money selling some off.

RJC it's a National landmark & a museum. It's actually under the jurisdiction of the National Park Service these days. Those belong to all of us. If they sold them they would just pi$$ the money away on nonsense. They are safe there. The coolest part is what you don't see. The second floor is called the "pattern room". Closed to the public for many years and has thousands of guns in storage. Stuff collectors only dream about. M1 Garand serial number 1, M1 Carbine serial number 1, Every experimental weapon the US has ever made along with nearly all the stuff that was ever sent here for testing from overseas, etc. I know a guy who got access to do research for a book and he took ALOT of pictures of things not many people have ever seen.

 

[Red James Cash]

RJC it's a National landmark & a museum. It's actually under the jurisdiction of the National Park Service these days. Those belong to all of us. If they sold them they would just pi$$ the money away on nonsense. They are safe there.

I know NHB.But if theyre everybodies,I want mine

 

[NHBandit]

lol I remember going there as a kid in the 60s with my Cub Scout troop and in those days it was still run by the Army. They had bins full of brand new surplus parts for sale dirt cheap in the lobby. I also had a scout master that had connections there and one weekend at a camp out we burned burlap bags full of reject 1903 Springfield rifle stocks in our campfire...

 

[Red James Cash]

Yup I know museums.They have stuff packed away that has never seen the light of day for a hundred or more years,left to rot and decay into dust.Never to be touched or appreciated by those that would.Thats the travesty of it.

 

[NHBandit]

Yup I know museums.They have stuff packed away that has never seen the light of day for a hundred or more years,left to rot and decay into dust.Never to be touched or appreciated by those that would.Thats the travesty of it.

Yeah but this one simply dosn't have the room to display it all so they rotate stuff. You have to remember it was a gun factory for 200 years before it was ever a museum. Check it out if you find yourself in Western Mass.

 

[Red James Cash]

Yup,I'll go there sooner or later.A friend of mine use to live in springfield about 8 or so years ago.He put it on par with Dorchester.A fun town if you either dont live there or you stay away lol.

 

[Tnmountains]

Here are some civil war muskets. A good variety. I ride out there often to Chickamauga. The video is not mine though but the ride out front is

 

[NHBandit]

Excellent video. Another place to add to my list of things to do. Nice ride as well. I've got a 96" stroker Shovelhead and the wife has an 84 Softtail. Need to get them ready for Spring over the next couple of months.

 

[Tnmountains]

Excellent video. Another place to add to my list of things to do. Nice ride as well. I've got a 96" stroker Shovelhead and the wife has an 84 Softtail. Need to get them ready for Spring over the next couple of months.

Yep I have mine on the tinder. Rain I need to ride been in a deer stand for 2 days. I will post up a Towers musket from a Union soldier. The things used to be a dime a dozen not so anymore.

 

[JR in Hohenwald TN.]

I believe I had read many years ago the home Grant lived in had a fence around his home made of musket barrels. Seen a pic but that was 20 -30 years ago so I can't remember where.